Barrie aiming to prove his worth

13th September
First team

Barrie McKay is hoping to prove his worth to Swansea City – not Nottingham Forest – when his former club visit the Liberty Stadium this weekend.

McKay is in contention to face the team he left in July having recovered from the illness which ruled him out of the Swans’ win at Millwall prior to the international break.

The winger had started every one of the Swans’ league games this season until missing the trip to The Den.

He hopes to make an immediate return to the side on Saturday, but insists his motivation will be to impress Graham Potter – as well as the home crowd – rather than make a point to Forest.

McKay joined the City Ground club in the summer of 2017 and made a flying start to life in a Forest shirt, but he found himself on the sidelines after Aitor Karanka took over as manager midway through last season.

“The first six months at Forest went really well for me, but I struggled a bit over the last six,” McKay said.

“It was tough to go from playing every game to not really featuring at all. The manager brought in his own players and had different ideas, but that can happen in football.

“I was training with the under-23 side and obviously that’s not what you want to be doing. You want to be part of the first team and contributing.

“But I don’t really feel like I’ve got anything to prove to Forest. I went there and felt I did well for them.

“It’s still early days for me here at Swansea and I’ve still got a lot to prove to the manager and fans. It’s up to me to prove my worth here rather than thinking about the past.”

McKay remains in touch with a number of Forest players, although contact has been minimal in the lead-up to Saturday’s game.

The former Rangers man has been focusing on his work on the training ground as he bids to win back his place in Potter’s team.

“I trained on the Thursday before the Millwall game and started to feel ill later that night right through to the next day,” he added.

“The doctor just told me to rest up and get myself better and I’m thankful that I only missed one game.

“The boys really dug deep and got a great win at Millwall which just showed the spirit we have here.

“But hopefully the manager will put his trust in me again and I can repay that. I came here to play games and that’s what I want to do.”